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New Release Review! HIS OUTBACK NANNY by Annie Seaton (Prickle Creek #3)


His Outback Nanny
by Annie Seaton

Synopsis:

Jemima Smythe is over the world of fashion. But when her dream of teaching falls through, Jemmy is determined to show her hometown she’s ready to put down roots. Three beautiful and boisterous kids in need of a nanny offer her an opportunity to prove just that. But their smoking-hot dad, Ned, offers her another—become his wife, as a matter of convenience only.

Ned McCormack is at his wits’ end. A single father to three kids, he quit the city and moved home to the Australian Outback in order to spend more quality time with his family. Unfortunately, the farm needs a lot of work. Just when he’s ready to give up, help comes unexpectedly in the form of a supermodel mistaken as his wife-to-be.

Not a bad arrangement, if only they can stick to the rules of their strictly-business marriage—no kissing and absolutely no falling in love allowed.

 

Review:

His Outback Nanny is a sweet read. It’s the third in the series, but would work just fine as a standalone–the only “spoilers” are who ends up with whom in the first two books, which you can figure out by reading their blurbs, so… 😉

Jemima is an international model who really just wants to be a teacher. (I know, it seems like a bit of a stretch, but there you have it.) A cute but slightly silly mixup has her entering into a fake relationship/business deal with one of her older brother’s good friends growing up, slightly overwhelmed single dad Ned.

Ned’s wife died four years earlier (their youngest doesn’t remember her) and he’s since moved his three kids back to where he grew up to make a go at farming in the hopes that he’ll be able to spend more time with his kids. He needs help around the ranch, though, which requires a loan to pay salaries…and, well, marrying Jemima suddenly becomes crucial to this plan. So they draw up a contract, visit a justice of the peace (or the outback equivalent…) and, well, you can guess where this is probably going to go.

The journey to their HEA is sweet, but not without its frustrations. Ned is bound and determined not to fall in love again–not just with Jemima but with anyone, because of how tough things were when his first wife died in an accident. Because of this, it takes him a really long time to admit what is happening, which makes Jemima miserable and makes you want to give him some mean side-eye. A few of the decisions he makes along the way and asks Jemima to cooperate with add to the frustration, though it’s definitely in his favor that he loves his kids and loved his first wife, I still wanted to give him a good shake at times. The ending is very sweet, though, and when he finally decides to get his head out of his butt he does put on a good show.

Seb’s story (the last of four cousins called back to Prickle Creek by their grandparents) is next–he’s been quite a mystery all this time so I’m curious to see where it will lead!

Rating: 4 stars / B

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.


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